Active 1943 - 1992 | Type Division | |
Role Infantry, Mechanized Infantry, Tank | ||
The 79th Guards Rifle Division was created on Mar. 1, 1943 from the remnants of the 284th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's stalwart defense against the German Sixth Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, in particular the Mamayev Kurgan hill and parts of the city's center. The 79th Guards continued a record of distinguished service through the rest of the Great Patriotic War, and continued to serve postwar, in several roles, until being finally disbanded in 1992.
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It became the 20th Guards Mechanized Division in 1945, 27th Guards Tank Division in 1957, and the 79th Guards Tank Division in 1965. It served with the famous 8th Guards Army from 1943 until it was disbanded.
Formation
The 79th Guards was one of several Guards rifle divisions created in the aftermath of the fighting for Stalingrad. When formed, its order of battle was as follows:
At the same time the 62nd Army was renamed as the 8th Guards Army, and the 79th Guards remained in that Army, in 28th Guards Rifle Corps, for the duration. During 1943 and early 1944, it fought through the deep south of Ukraine, and was credited with the liberation of the city of Zaporozhe in October, 1943.
On the Path to Berlin
In a deliberate symbolic move the 8th Guards Army was then sent northwards to the center of the front, coming under command of 1st Belorussian Front; Stalin was determined that the Army that had defended Stalingrad would take part in the capture of Berlin. The 79th Guards ended the war fighting in the eastern suburbs of the German capital in May, 1945. It was then known as the 79th Guards Rifle Zaporozhe, Order of Lenin, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Order of Bogdan Khmelynitskii Division. (Russian: Запорожье, орденом Ленина, орденом Красного Знамени, орденом Суворова, Орден Богдана Хмельницкого.)
Cold War
In the fall of 1945 the division became the 20th Guards Mechanized Division. In July 1956 the division became directly subordinated to the army after the 28th Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded. The division was based at Jena. On 17 May 1957 it became the 27th Guards Tank Division. On 11 January 1965 it became the 79th Guards Tank Division, restoring its World War II numbering. The division remained at Jena until July 1992, when it was withdrawn to Samarkand in the Turkestan Military District. It was quickly disbanded after arrival there.